Things Not Said
by Rumour of an Alchemist
Summary: Alternate Universe. There are things that Draco Malfoy's father has been keeping from him and Draco's sister... Rating: 'T'. One-shot. Author Notes expanded 22nd June, 2014.


(Author Notes expanded, 22nd June, 2014)

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter.

Note: The following one-shot takes place in an alternate universe. There was a different prophecy from canon made by Sybill Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore in this one, and Lord Voldemort concluded that it was the son of one of his own followers who was the greatest possible threat to him...

Further Note: The villa in which much of this story takes place is an imaginary one in the Rhone Valley in France, close to Lyon. Practically everyone, unless indicated otherwise, is assumed to be speaking/thinking in French.

Rating: This story is rated 'T'.

Further Further Note: For those waiting in frustration, I'm hoping to _finally_ be able to get the next chapter ('House of Salazar') of the 'Saint Potter?' main story posted by the end of May 2014. Sorry about the hold up, but what I regard as necessary development of background material before that story could be progressed further has been taking some time.

* * *

Draco Malfoy didn't remember much about his mother. He knew she had had long blonde hair, and he had an impression that she had loved him very dearly, but she'd died before he was even two years old, and there weren't exactly any pictures of her around the house, or if there were, father kept them in his private study here in _this_ villa, where Draco simply didn't go because he wasn't allowed. Practically nobody went in father's private study here. Not even the cleaners. Father had told _even_ Juturna off for venturing in, the one time, and father _loved_ Draco's blonde-haired younger sibling as much as he seemed to generally radiate icy disdain for Draco himself. Very few things which Draco did ever seemed to be good enough for his father – Draco sometimes wondered if father blamed Draco in some way for the death of Draco's mother?

One morning in late September of 1990, 'the letter' arrived at the Malfoy family's Rhone valley villa, and Draco's life turned upside down forever.

It was a letter written for some reason on parchment, addressed to Draco in purple ink, and the envelope it arrived in had actually been _sealed_ with a blob of wax. Said envelope had had a British stamp and postmark on it, but whomever had put the stamp on didn't seem to be quite familiar with the ordinary conventions of the postage system, and had stuck the stamp on sideways, in the wrong corner.

And then Draco opened it and mustering what scraps of English he knew, supplemented with a dictionary, tried to decipher it – and _frowned_. This _had_ to be a joke of some kind by some crazy Englishman.

He went to see father in his 'day to day business' study, taking the letter with him.

* * *

Draco's father glanced over the letter, and a look of distaste flickered over his face.

Draco waited for his father to say something.

"That interfering old man." Draco's father said at length.

Draco continued to wait dutifully.

"I shall deal with this, Draco." Draco's father said, and spiked the parchment on one of the several letter spikes ranged about the desk.

The gaze Draco's father adopted was that of 'you are dismissed', so Draco turned to go.

"Oh, Draco: Not a word of this to your sister. This will likely involve _confidential_ affairs, and the less that either of you know of this, the better."

Lucius Malfoy was a man who liked to keep his secrets close to his chest. If he knew _anything_ about who might send a hoax letter purporting to be from one 'Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore' or why such a person might be pretending to run a school of 'Witchcraft and Wizardry' which 'he' was hoping very much that Draco would like to think about attending, then Draco's father was _not_ inclined to explain.

* * *

That evening, one of the scarier associates of Draco's father arrived at the villa – Monsieur Lefebvre. Draco wasn't entirely sure what Monsieur Lefebvre _did_, but he favoured dark clothes which matched his dark hair, and he liked to affect an old-fashioned cloak, which billowed impressively when he walked. He had a hooked nose, dark eyes, and a quiet, watchful, expression. There were few clues as to exactly what he might do by way of a trade, although his fingers were often stained, and he frequently carried a strange, herbal, smell with him. Draco figured he might be some sort of artist, chemist, or brewer/distiller. His accent was impossible to place.

The arrival of Monsieur Lefebvre usually heralded trouble for _someone_. He was most often invited to the family's Paris apartments, round about Christmas, in the run up to the end of the French tax year, when Draco's father required palms greasing, money moved, or pressure exerted upon someone. Monsieur Lefebvre _never_ spoke to Draco or Juturna unless Draco's father had made a remark which invited a response of some kind by the man to the children, and he tended to always see Draco's father in private. He was one of the few visitors whom Draco knew that his father _would_ receive in his private study, here in the Rhone valley villa.

One summer, when Draco had been younger, he had once made the mistake of trying to listen at the door to a conversation between his father and Monsieur Lefebvre, but somehow his father had known Draco was outside the door, and caught him at it, and with a look of barely controlled fury on his face, had sent Draco to his room for the next three days. After that, Draco had been reduced to mucking out the stables for a week, with no help from the servants. Draco had never repeated the mistake.

Draco loitered at a respectful distance, watching for signs of Monsieur Lefebvre's comings and goings without getting close enough to the forbidden door to in anyway be in danger of being thought to be listening if anyone should suddenly emerged. His sister was doing her maths homework, and occasionally bothered him for assistance with some sum. Draco pretended he was doing some art homework, although he was more interested in checking a newspaper for news about _Olympique Lyonnais_ who had initially struggled in the top division last season, but seemed to get more confident and at home there as the season progressed. It was possible that if they could continue last season's form that they might qualify for the UEFA cup, this time around.

The newspaper was well and truly plucked dry of information and opinion about _Olympique_ and the art homework mostly done by the time that Monsieur Lefebvre eventually emerged, an hour and a half after his disappearance 'behind closed doors' with Draco's father. The habitual scowl which was often on his face seemed to be slightly darker than usual. He swept out, feigning to ignore Draco, and a few moments later, Draco's father emerged.

His father glanced sharply at Draco.

"I wasn't listening, father." Draco hastily said. "I was curious about how long he'd be here for, and I was waiting to see him go, but I wasn't listening."

Lucius Malfoy raked his son with his grey-eyed gaze, then nodded, pulled the door shut, and locked it, departing in the direction of the lower floor.

If Draco was ever going to hear anything more about this, it apparently wasn't going to be tonight.

* * *

The mysterious hoax letter and the question of just _what_ his father might have been attempting to do about it passed out of Draco's mind rapidly, as the business of school term proceeded, until one evening, having taken the bus home from school with his sister, Draco found an elderly man dressed in the fashion of a hippy waiting outside the gates of the family villa. He had a flowing long white beard, piercing blue eyes, and wore half-moon spectacles.

"Good evening." the man said. His accent was English, but his French was fluent. "I had rung the bell, but nobody seemed to answer. Perhaps, if you live here, you might assist me?" and he beamed, his eyes twinkling madly.

"You need to make an appointment." Draco said. "They don't let just anyone in."

"I had tried, but alas I have received no response, and I need to speak with the owner of the house, Monsieur Malfoy, on a matter of some importance and urgency."

"Perhaps he doesn't want to speak to you then." Draco said, although wondering just _why_ if speaking to his father was so important, this old man didn't just telephone? Perhaps he was worried about the line being bugged or something, and wanted a face-to-face meeting? "In any case, we are in no position to assist you. Monsieur Malfoy values his privacy, and gives strict orders about who comes and goes."

"And yet _you_ seem to come and go, I would guess?" the old man peered shrewdly at Draco and Juturna.

"We are the children of one of the servants." Draco said smoothly. His father's instructions were quite clear on the topic of _never_ admitting to being related to him to any strangers.

"I see." the old man said. He seemed to be weighing his options carefully. "Well if you could pass a message on to whomever may be appropriate to ask if Monsieur Malfoy's secretary could check for correspondence from me, and do me the courtesy of a reply? My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and I am hoping to keep my business friendly and without involvement of official legal visits."

And with that, the peculiar old man turned and departed, without so much as a glance back.

Draco thought that the name the old man had given sounded vaguely familiar for some reason, but couldn't place it – it certainly wasn't anything he'd come across in the last week or so.

He felt a shiver go down his spine, nonetheless, as he watched the old man go. Was he something to do with law-enforcement then, or someone political? Were his odd clothes a disguise of some sort? The visitor moved with surprising speed for a man who _looked_ as old as he did…

* * *

Draco's father went pale when Draco reported to him that evening, in the 'day to day business' study, the encounter with the man at the gate. The name certainly seemed to mean something to his father. Then he sent for Juturna, to join them, spending the time whilst he and Draco waited pacing and scowling, occasionally muttering something under his breath. Once Juturna had arrived he closed the doors.

"The man you saw at the gate is unfortunately a _very_ powerful and highly dangerous man, whether he was actually whom he claimed to be, or someone else disguised as him. There is a secret conspiracy of men and women who have what seem to be 'genuine' magical powers – a secret conspiracy of 'wizards' and 'witches' which exists in all the nations of the world, and whose members often take steps to erase at least knowledge of their existence and at times to even _kill_ anyone who is not part of their conspiracy and who discovers that they exist. I once made the mistake of associating with a criminal from that 'world' – a man who called himself 'Lord Voldemort'," Lucius' lips curled in disdain for a moment here, "and whom I made the error of believing that I thought that I could trust. He was a dangerous madman, whom it turned out that _nobody_ could trust, and he killed your mother. After that, fearing complications, I did my best to cut almost all links with that world, and to remove you two as far as possible from it. Monsieur Lefevbre occasionally acts for me in the capacity of a go-between, keeping me informed of things happening amongst members of the conspiracy, or carrying out other errands for me. Albus Dumbledore is a member of the secret world of wizards and witches. He runs a school in it. And apparently, because he believes in the crazy ramblings of an often-times drunk woman whom he believes can tell him the future, he seems to want you to attend his school, Draco."

Draco had dozens of questions bothering him, and he opened his mouth, but then shut it again firmly, and pressed his lips together. His father had _not_ invited him to ask questions, after all.

"Can you keep us safe from him, daddy?" Juturna asked, sounding worried, and letting that get the better of the 'no questions' rule (which in any case their father was more inclined to indulge her over).

"I don't know." Lucius said, pressing his lips together and looking concerned. "I'll try my best, my little one, but I don't know."

* * *

Author Notes:

Juturna is a name I borrowed from _The Aeneid_, since I didn't want to trawl through star & constellation names for a female sounding 'classical' name. She's the reason why (after Voldemort went after Draco, and Narcissa got in the way with bouncing killing curse results) Lucius went on the run to France, and did his best to cut almost all possible links with the magical world. At the time Lucius couldn't have cared a straw about what happened to _Draco_, whom he viewed as responsible and blamed for his beloved wife's death, but he didn't want Juturna getting caught in any crossfire. Juturna is maybe a year or so younger than Draco.

'Lefevbre' is (as far as I understand) a French word for 'Smith', and 'Mr. Smith' is the alias in France used by Severus Snape. In this universe, owing to the differences from canon in prophecy, Severus never turned traitor on Voldemort to Albus Dumbledore, but Lucius Malfoy (finding Severus the most useful contact he had) 'bought' him out of an Azkaban sentence once the wizarding war was over. Since that time, Severus has served Lucius as a sort of factotum. (For those who want to know about such things James and Lily Potter are still alive and married somewhere, with several children, by now.)

Lucius had been hoping to keep his children entirely out of and away from magic as far as possible (he sends them to a muggle school in Lyon and had been arranging places for them at the _Ermitage_ boarding school). The 'private study' in the Rhone valley villa is where he keeps what magical items and reference material he has left, and his mementos of Narcissa. Even by the end of this piece, Lucius still refuses to tell his children that he is a wizard or that they are magic-capable, although obviously (to Draco) his father has as good as said that at least Draco is, in light of what he's revealed about Albus Dumbledore and his school.

The Malfoys in this universe also have a flat in Paris where they go during holidays, and (an unmentioned in this story) villa smaller than the Rhone Valley one on the Côte d'Azur, near Nice.

This story is a one-shot, one of my occasional forays into a universe with a different 'Boy-Who-Lived'. Future development of it is unlikely though given his current predicament, with Albus Dumbledore exerting pressure to get Draco to attend a _magical_ school, Lucius is likely to do his best to send the children to Beauxbatons.

Update (23rd April, 2014):

Since there was no prophecy threat against the Potters in this universe, they never went into hiding under a fidelius charm and Peter Pettigrew either never turned Death Eater under the pressure put on him by events or was at least never put in a situation where his treachery was potentially exposed. (And with no Potter secret keeper business and conflict with Peter, Sirius never went to Azkaban. Peter Pettigrew is living a perfectly comfortable relatively normal life, and (if he was a Death Eater in this universe) is certainly unlikely to develop is canon counterpart's desire to go off and try to resurrect Lord Voldemort at any point.

Lucius Malfoy, his wife having been killed by Lord Voldemort, either destroyed the diary Lord Voldemort gave him or (if he proved unable to do so) sent it anonymously to Albus Dumbledore with a warning note.

Thus the attempt by Lord Voldemort to steal the Philosopher's Stone with the assistance of Quirinus Quirrell is likely the only of his 'canon' attempts that he would get the chance to make to 'come back' in some form or another.

Update (2nd June, 2014):

Lucius initially went on the run/into hiding, as much from fellow Death Eater fanatics who might blame the Malfoys for Lord Voldemort's death, as from British Magical Law Enforcement. As in canon he probably could have bought his own way out of any legal charge of being a Death Eater (if a case could be convincingly made, given that Lord Voldemort killed Lucius' _wife_), but the ire of, say, his sister-in-law Bellatrix might have been considerably less easy to deflect.


End file.
